Social representations of the internet for the elderly

• Published in: Revista brasileira de crescimento e desenvolvimento humano 2020, Vol.30 (2), p.227-240
• Main Authors: Castro, Amanda, Vitali, Marieli Mezari, Bousfield, Andréa Barbará S, Camargo, Brigido Vizeu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aging; Classification; Computer programs; Content analysis; Geriatrics; Internet; Internet access; Older people; Polarity; Software; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 0104-1282; 2175-3598
• DOI: 10.7322/jhgd.v30.10369

Introduction: Increase in Internet access by elderly people is a consequence of population ageing, even though a long way still lies ahead for their digital inclusion. Objective: To describe the social representations of Internet among the elderly  and to compare objectification and anchoring processes of elderly people with different levels in Internet usage. Methods: Qualitative and quantitative study, with descriptive and comparative design, involving forty participants. Data collection occurred through  different tools as follows: 1) associative network, analyzed by EVOC2000 and calculation of polarity 2) semi-structured interview, analyzed by Descending Hierarchical Classification with IRaMuTeQ and  content analysis by Atlas TI and  3) characterization questionnaire and evaluation scale for digital inclusion level,   with  descriptive statistical analysis by SPSS software. Results: Associative network analyzed 78 words and their polarity was slightly positive. Descending Hierarchical Classification analyzed 89.51% of the corpus, divided into three segments: Internet danger, difficulties in usage v. Internet options and practices; content analysis divided 505 occurrences into three categories: image, attitude and information. Conclusion: Representations of elderly people with the highest use of Internet were undertaken by accessing hardware, apps and sites, anchored on an idea of the Internet as a means of retrieving information, leisure and interaction. Representations of the elderly with the lowest level of experience were undertaken by computer, based on a sociological perspective and marked by unfavorable attitudes. Introdução: O aumento do acesso à internet por idosos acompanha o avanço do envelhecimento populacional, mas há ainda um longo caminho a percorrer para a inclusão digital desse coletivo. Objetivo: Descrever as representações sociais da internet para idosos e comparar seus processos de objetificação e ancoragem para idosos com diferentes níveis de uso da internet. Método: Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo e quantitativo, com delineamento descritivo e comparativo, composto por 40 participantes. A coleta de dados ocorreu por rede associativa, analisada pelo programa EVOC2000 e cálculo de polaridade, entrevista semiestruturada, analisada por Classificação Hierárquica Descendente com o software IRaMuTeQ e análise de conteúdo por meio do software Atlas.TI, questionário de caracterização e escala de avaliação do nível de inclusão digital, anal